It might come as a surprise to some that Newfoundland鈥檚 College of the North Atlantic has an affiliated technical school in the sunbaked Middle Eastern country of Qatar.
Well, now the College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CNA-Q) is expanding on its Canadian connections through a new partnership with AV俱乐部.
Dal and the technical college signed an agreement this spring that opens the doors for Qatari students to upgrade their studies to a bachelor鈥檚 degree in Halifax.
The articulation agreement, signed in May when a CNA-Q delegation visited Dal, establishes a formal pathway for graduates of the college's Information Technology and Business Studies two- and three-year diploma programs.
While Dal has partnerships with some Canadian colleges, this agreement marks its first-ever formal arrangement with a technical school outside the country.
"We are focused more and more every year on attracting motivated international students to AV俱乐部, and this partnership is a logical next step in diversifying how we do that," says Alain Boutet, executive director of Dal鈥檚 Office of International Relations.
A powerful partnership
The partnership between Dal and CNA-Q provides a valuable new connection for both parties. Dal gets to further its goal of attracting even more international students and CNA-Q adds an attractive new option for international study to its current and prospective students.
The pathway allows CNA-Q students to complete credits within an additional two years at Dal to earn a Bachelor of Applied Computer Science or a Bachelor of Management
鈥淭his partnership will have a big impact on the lives of Qatari students, who will now have the opportunity to study at a U15 university in Canada,鈥� says Vivian Howard, interim dean in the Faculty of Management. 鈥淚t will also benefit AV俱乐部 and its students by further enriching our campus culture.鈥�
Applications for CNA-Q grads looking to study at Dal opened this past spring, with the first cohort of students expected during the 2019-2020 academic year.
First launched in 2002 out of a strategic partnership between the State of Qatar and the College of the North Atlantic, CNA-Q creates a bond between students and Canada early on as most of its instructors are Canadian.
Photo details
Back row (l-r): Paulette Skerrett, Assistant Director, Bachelor of Management Program, Faculty of Management; Vivian Howard, Acting Dean, Faculty of Management; Mike Smit, Acting Associate Dean Academic, Faculty of Management; Andrew Rau-Chaplin, Dean, Faculty of Computer Science; Christian Blouin, Associate Dean Academic, Faculty of Computer Science. Front row (l-r): Maged ElShaer, Assistant to the Cultural Attach茅, Qatar Embassy in Canada; Samah Gamar, Vice-President Academic, College of the North Atlantic Qatar; Teri Balser, Interim President and Vice-Chancellor, AV俱乐部; Alain Boutet, Executive Director, Office of International Relations.